Black Heart, Dead Heart
by kylermalloy
Summary: The Folcharts take a holiday in Italy post-Inkdeath, which results in a "visitor" from ANOTHER STINKING BOOK! Why can't those Silvertongues hold theirs!
1. THE ACCIDENT

'Sup?

I can't believe it's been a year and a half since I got on here. Anybody miss me?

...

Right.

Anyway, I've been working on this for a while (got bored with my other story-that's right, I only have one other story on here) and finally got it up for public ripping-to-shreds. It deserves it, by the way.

This is just a crazy idea I had and wrote down...enjoy!

KylerM

P.S. The title bar for some reason paired my characters and it looks like I'm getting Meggie and Edward together...*gag*...so not happening.

* * *

THE ACCIDENT

Meggie closed her eyes and let the world melt around her. She suppressed the strange, alien instinct she felt traveling between worlds. The Inkworld had disappeared in tendrils and now swirled inside Meggie's head. She kept her eyes tightly shut and her hand locked around the anchor to her world. Her soul mate squeezed her hand as the spinning Meggie felt faded to a rocking, then yielded to firm ground.

"Open your eyes, Meggie," Doria's voice whispered in her ear. "We're here."

Meggie blinked and stared at the familiar setting of Elinor's house. It was just as she remembered it.

"Oh, heavens! Look at how dusty the place has gotten," Elinor's brisk voice cut through the slightly surreal moment of arriving back in Italy. "Oh, my poor books!"

"I'll tend to them, Elinor." Mo, always the calm one. "But I will need some help. Meggie? Luc?"

"Me! Me!" Luc jumped up and down, tugging at his father's hand. "I want to help!"

"I've got a job for the two of us," Darius said quietly, putting his arm around Luc. "Your sister and Doria can help Mortimer."

"I will leave you all to it," Elinor was already heading upstairs to her room. "I am headed to the bookstore in town. There has probably been a new _Pride and Prejudice_ written in the last year."

"Could I tag along?" Resa removed her traveling cloak. "I do believe we need some groceries."

"Meggie?" Doria held out his hand. "The library?"

Meggie laughed breathlessly. "Just let me get changed."

...

As Meggie headed upstairs, she could still hear her brother's high voice bouncing shrilly off the walls. Luc. He had been born in the Inkworld and had never come here until he was three. That was when Mo and Fenoglio had come up with the brilliant plan. Elinor had become increasingly worried about her books, still in their original world. Fenoglio had written them two pieces to read aloud: one to journey to Italy and one to return to the Inkworld. Every year, for one month, the whole family, Mo, Resa, Meggie, Doria, Luc, Elinor, and Darius would live in Elinor's house on the lake, tidy up, add to Elinor's book collection, and update on what was happening in the world.

"If a third world war breaks out, I would like to hear about it," Elinor had remarked. "No use not knowing."

Meggie closed the door to her room and took off her dress. She found a jumper and a pair of pants in one of her drawers. Then she untied her hair and let it fall down around her shoulders. As she turned to leave, her eyes happened to fall on her bed. There was a small scorch mark on the bedspread. Meggie walked over to the bed and touched the mark, her head swimming with memories.

When she and her first love, Farid, had ventured into the Inkworld, fire-elves had come out to replace them, so Mo had said. Now there was a small black burn mark on the sheet where one of the elves had briefly settled. Meggie closed her eyes again and fingered the worn blanket. _Six years_, she thought. _Nearly six years since we left._ Meggie was going to be nineteen in a few months, and Luc was five and a half. Fenoglio, the creator of the whole Inkworld, was now practically bedridden, though he continued to write and tell stories. Mo was still reserved about using his talent of reading aloud; Meggie usually read them to Italy and back.

When Luc was born, Mo's and Resa's worst fear was that he would be what Dustfinger called a Silvertongue. But he had read aloud many times with nothing happening.

Although he more closely resembled his father, Luc was closer to his mother. Both of them dreamt of flying as birds, as Resa had eaten the shape-shifting seeds known as Little Death when she was pregnant, which had turned her into a swift. Resa sometimes truly slipped into her feathers while she slept, but Luc only dreamt.

There was a quiet tap on Meggie's door. Doria. Meggie smiled slightly and rose from the bed. Time to get to work.

...

Meggie reached up and took another stack of books from Doria. He stood perched on a rickety ladder against Elinor's towering bookshelves, wielding a feather duster to clean the books, then pulling them off the shelves to hand to Meggie, who stood on the floor. His wavy brown hair was brushed back neatly, and he wore a striped jumper and a pair of denim pants. Meggie chuckled to herself. Doria had never gotten accustomed to wearing the clothes of this world, and Meggie could never get habituated seeing them on him. She carried the heavy stack of eighteenth century science journals to the table where Mo sat, struggling to see around her badly balanced load. As she plunked them on the table, she wiped sweat off her forehead. Mo glanced up and handed her a handkerchief, to which she smiled in thanks.

Meggie exhaled deeply. She'd been feeling slightly clammy all afternoon, but no one had noticed yet. They probably thought she was too delicate to be carrying around all those books. If she was ill, she at least wanted to wait until Elinor returned with new books before making a fuss.

Mo took the book on the top of the stack and gently leafed through it to make sure it didn't need repair. After he inspected it, Mo passed the book on to Luc and Darius, who marked it off on the inventory and prepared to put it back in its proper place.

"Hello! Everyone!" Elinor was back. She paraded into her sacred library, surveying the work approvingly before approaching Meggie. "I have the most wonderful book for you," she said in a half whisper. She reached into the bag she was carrying and pulled out a black-bound book. _"Twilight,"_ she hissed in a sinister tone. "It's about vampires. An American wrote it, but I've been told it's a wonderful love story."

Meggie gingerly took the book. Ever since she and her family had lived in the Inkworld, Meggie tended to avoid fantasy books. But there were no vampires in the Inkworld, so perhaps she would read it. Just then a wave of heat flushed her face and she was reminded of what she'd planned on saying.

"Elinor," she began. "I've been feeling slightly feverish all day. I think I may have come down with something."

"Oh, dear," Elinor sighed as she felt Meggie's forehead. "Have these musty books given you a bug? How naughty of them."

It turned out Meggie had a fever and a cough, and she would need to stay in bed for a few days. However, the confines of her bed were incredibly boring. She itched to read something, but she felt dizzy every time she tried to focus on words on a page.

The third day of Meggie's confinement, she woke up to find Elinor's vampire book sitting on her bedside table, with a note from Mo on top: _Meggie—Read this, it'll make you feel better._

She lay back in bed as Resa brought her some tea. Luc carried a small bowl of soup in behind his mother. As they turned to leave, Meggie had an inspiration. She didn't feel like reading herself, but she would love to be read to.

"Luc," she called out, her voice slightly rusty. "Could they spare you for a day? I'd like someone to read to me."

Luc looked up at Resa pleadingly. She smiled at him and ruffled his long dark hair. "Please be careful," she said.

He weighed the book in his hands. "It's big," he said apprehensively. "Does it have pictures?"

Meggie smiled weakly. "No. It's all words. But Resa could draw something for you if you like."

Luc shook his head glumly. "I just hoped that there were pictures to make it shorter."

"You don't have to do this," Meggie reminded him. "Resa could—"

"No, I want to read to you," Luc interrupted. "I'm hardly ever allowed."

Meggie smiled tiredly and lay back on her pillows to listen.

Luc opened the book and began the first chapter. "First Sight," he said grandly.

Luc read beautifully for a young boy. He never stumbled over words, never mispronounced anything. Mo always said he had the makings of a town crier.

For several minutes, Meggie listened intently to the storyline. A teenage girl was at a new school, and she noticed a strange boy sitting in the lunchroom. Luc read out the description of the boy dramatically. Meggie wondered faintly if he was a vampire.

Then she realized how caught up in the story she was. She couldn't stop listening to her brother's voice. There had been a fly in the room, buzzing quite annoyingly, but Meggie didn't even notice it anymore. She smelled a faint scent of food, like the cafeteria at her school, a long time ago. She knew in an instant what was about to happen. It was an instant too late.

"Luc!" she shouted, trying to resist the magic of his voice. "Luc! _Stop reading!_"

* * *

CUT! Just at the moment of climax! Gee, I WONDER who got read out... (It's really obvious.)

I named the kid Luc after Doria's friend who dies in Inkdeath. Saves me the trouble of making up some totally weird name that everybody hates. (If you're wondering, just pronounce it Luke. I don't care if it's right; it works for me.)

By the way, I don't write stories because I'm an aspiring writer and want to improve my skills, but I'd love constructive criticism anyway... ;)

**Thank you for reading KylerM.**


	2. PREDICAMENT

Switch! This is a sad, short li'l thing, just to show who came out. Changing places with a FLY, of all things...What was I thinking?

Anyway, enough of my flack.

Now read my professionially-labeled flack:

* * *

PREDICAMENT

I stared at Bella's sleeping form. It had been over two months since her horrible encounter with the tracker vampire. I had sworn to myself never to let her go through that kind of ordeal again.

I still remembered the taste of her ridiculously potent blood. So absolutely sweet.

I cut off my air for a second, making sure I wouldn't have to leave. No, it was tolerable. I rested the back of my hand gently on her cheek, and she smiled slightly at my touch. I wanted so much to take her in my arms, to hold her and protect her from anything and everything dangerous in the world. Why couldn't I?

I rocked back on my heels slightly, preparing myself. Then suddenly I felt a tug around my navel. I felt like something was pulling at me, pulling me away from the reason for my existence. But it shouldn't have been working; I was so much stronger than anyone.

It _was_ working. Bella's room began to meld around me. I began floating away from her still figure.

_What is happening?! _I screamed in my head. Desperately, I lunged for the bedpost. My fingers raked through the fragile wood surface, doing nothing to help me stay where I was. I could no longer see Bella. I was spinning around and flying at the same time. Where was I going? Would I ever get back?

"_Bella!"_ I yelled. _"No!"_ But she was gone. Or rather, I was gone from her.

_..._

_Luc can do it. He has the gift. No, no, no. What will Mo say?_

_Who tha? Is…No. Not me. Can't do it. Can't be._

Two sets of stunned thoughts broke into my mind. The voices were unfamiliar, but they both had the same familiar pitch: fear.

I took in my surroundings. I was in a small bedroom that rather resembled the one from Van Gogh's famous bedroom paintings. There was a child's bed in one corner, its head by the window. In the bed lay a girl who looked about eighteen or nineteen years old. She had fair hair, blue eyes, and a sheen of sweat on her forehead. She must have been under the weather, as the sun was shining through the window.

In a chair opposite from the bed in the narrow room sat a young boy about five years old. He had long brown hair and a terrified expression. In his lap sat a book. It couldn't have been more than five hundred pages, but on the lap of the small boy, it looked enormous.

_No can't not me._ The little boy's thoughts were slightly incoherent with both his age and his panic.

The girl's thoughts were disbelieving, too. _What has he done? Who is that? Edward Cullen?_

How did she know my name? They had, somehow, taken me away from Bella. I could still feel my incredible strength in me. I would speak, threaten if I had to. But I _would_ be returned to Forks.

"What have you done?" I snarled. "Who are you? And how do you know my name?"

"We never said it," the girl said in a weak voice. "You are Edward? I am so sorry. My brother… He was reading about you." Her eyes darted to the book that the little boy held. _I shouldn't have opened it at all._

Reading? About _me?_ "Let me see that," I said to the boy, holding out my hand for the book. Trembling, he lifted it toward me with difficulty.

I read the title on the spine. _Twilight_. I opened it and leafed through the pages, feeling my eyes widen. This book was about _me_. Told from Bella's point of view, it was the story that had happened to her and me over the past six months.

"Where did you get this?" I demanded. "And where am I?"

The girl hesitated. "I'm going to tell you something very difficult to hear," she said. "First of all, you're in Italy, but not the Italy you know. You and your family were made up by a writer. She wrote books about you. You live within the book, and people outside the book read it."

My breath caught. I had been tentative about breathing, but neither of these humans smelled too particularly good.

This child was telling me that people read this book? People were learning about vampires? They knew what I was? And she said that I lived… in a book? How? Did a world exist _inside_ the book, where Bella, my family, and I lived? "So…" I said, dreading to ask the question. "Bella isn't here? She's inside a book?"

The girl nodded. "You mean Isabella Swan? Yes. She's only alive inside these pages. I'm so sorry. "

I took stock of my situation. I had been taken into a world where everyone knew what vampires were like.

And one where Bella did not exist.

* * *

DUN-DUN-DUN... Now Edward's going to kill himself... :) Sorry, can't help making fun of anyone in love.

"He jests at scars who never felt a wound."

Well, even hermits enjoy current events. (Translation: I'd like to know what you think!)

**Thank you for reading KylerM.**


	3. ABANDONED

Hello again!

Another sad, short chapter! And this one doesn't even lead anywhere! I'm a failure...

It's okay. Jesus loves me, even if no one on here does... :)

Please just read it and try not to throw up on your computer screen...

...was that too many ellipses?

* * *

ABANDONED

I woke up in a happy daze, unbothered by the irritable droning of a fly humming around my room. Such a good dream. And best of all, it was so, so close to my reality. The only difference was that I still wore the bulky cast on my leg. In my dream, I'd been running through the forest with Edward, never running into trees, never tripping. I couldn't wait until my leg healed fully and Edward and I could go to our meadow without him carrying me.

I turned my head, expecting to see his beautiful face inches from mine, breathing his cool, sweet breath across my face…

Nothing. I faced an empty room.

Maybe Charlie had just come in, and Edward was in the closet. That had happened once, but it was a school day then. Now school was out, and Charlie rarely came to see me before he left for work. And when I scanned the room, it was empty.

"Edward?" I called out tentatively. No answer.

I was worried now. Edward never did this.

Maybe something had come up at his house, and he'd had to leave. Yes. That was it. A tiny part of my mind reminded me that he would have probably taken me with him, or woken me up or at least left a note. But I was slightly hysterical and irrationally panicked. I had to go to the Cullens' and make sure he was there.

I climbed awkwardly out of bed and changed into a baggy pair of jeans. I pulled on a jacket; it was, of course, raining. As I reached for my horrible crutches from their place by my bed, I noticed something on one of my bedposts.

Several chunks had been gouged out of it. It reminded me of horror movies where someone was dragged backward and left finger marks in the dirt. But this wasn't dirt.

Only a vampire could have made such deep finger marks in solid wood. I definitely had to go to the Cullens' now.

I limped downstairs. A glance around the kitchen and living room confirmed that Charlie had already gone to work.

I left a note on the television for him: _Dad, Went to Edward's. Be back before dinner, probably. Bella._

My leg was healed enough that I could clumsily work the foot pedals in my truck, though I wasn't supposed to be driving alone. I didn't care, though. I had to find Edward.

...

"Strange," Alice murmured. She was crouched on the floor of my room, smelling what I could not. "I can tell he came in through your window, sat on your bed, and then got on the floor right here." She indicated the space on the floor where Edward usually sat while I slept. "But he didn't leave. The traces of his scent around the window are almost twelve hours old. He didn't leave through the window."

When I'd arrived at Edward's house, Alice had been waiting for me in the drive. She'd seen that I was coming, and why, and had informed me that Edward had not been at the house since yesterday evening, nor had she seen anything about him. So she and I had driven back to my house so she could smell out where he went.

"Is there any other way he could have left?" I asked anxiously.

"Well, he could have jumped straight up, but there's no hole in the ceiling… and he didn't even get near the door…"

"What about this?" I inquired, indicating the gouge marks on my bedposts. "Do you think he made these?"

"Definitely," Alice said. "That's his scent. It's like something was dragging him back, but he didn't go anywhere."

I started to hyperventilate. "Do you think Victoria—or Laurent—?"

"It wasn't another vampire, Bella," Alice soothed me. "I would have smelled it immediately. And even we can't disappear into thin air."

I was not reassured. "But it seems like he did just that. What could have happened to him?"

Alice put a comforting arm around my shoulders. "Don't worry, Bella. We'll find him. I promise."

...

Back at the Cullens', Alice reported our dire findings to the rest of the family. I stood silent, frozen with shock. Every member of the family, even Rosalie, was outwardly alarmed. Nothing like this had ever happened, that much was clear.

"Calm down, sweetheart," Esme tried to reassure me, but her own eyes were worried.

"We'll keep looking until he turns up," Carlisle said.

"And he _will _turn up," Emmett interjected. "And when he does…"

I tried to smile, but in my heart I felt what I believed they were all feeling. Edward wouldn't turn up. He couldn't be found. We wouldn't find him.

Edward was gone.

* * *

And I just ended ANOTHER chapter on a depressing note! Does this say something about my current mood?

Mmm...no. I just survived a week of power outages. I'm ecstatic!

I'll try to have the next chapter up soon.

...or maybe I shouldn't, as it's so negatively affecting everyone's health...

Apologies in advance for the mess on your screen...

UGH! There I go with the ellipses again! Do I do that in real life?

**Thank you for reading KylerM.**


	4. PREPARATIONS AND EXPLANATIONS

Man, this is so boring! Stinking exposition. I tried to make it brief, painless, and still sufficient.

* * *

EXPLANATIONS AND PREPARATIONS

The devastating reality crashed down on me, so hard that I almost fell to the ground. Bella was gone. I couldn't reach her. When she woke up, I wouldn't be there. She might look for me, she might miss me, but even if she did, she couldn't find me. I had been pulled away from her by two foreign _children_.

"Is there no way back?" I asked. I could hear the desperation in my voice. "Can you send me back into my world?"

The girl in bed swallowed loudly. _Luc can't do it. He would muddle it somehow. _"I might be able to read you back, but… as you can see, I'm not in the best condition right now, and I might not succeed even if I was feeling well. Reading things in and out of worlds is a very delicate feat."

"Explain, please," I said. "How on earth are you able to…_read_ things out of books?"

_And this is where it gets complicated. _"That's probably a story better told by my father," the girl said. She slid carefully out of bed and walked unsteadily to the door. "Mo?" she called to the house. Judging by the echoes her shout caused, this was quite a large, not-so-humble abode. "We've had a—an accident. Reading."

Did this sort of thing happen often? How many characters had these people pulled out of their beloved worlds?

After a few seconds, there were footsteps on stairs. The newcomer's thoughts were apprehensive. _Resa said Luc was reading, not Meggie. No. No. Please, not Luc. What has he brought? What has he sent _in?The footsteps quickened, until they stopped at the door of the room we were in.

"Meggie? You're all right?"

"Yes, Mo, we're both fine. But we have a… visitor."

The man, who quite resembled the little boy, turned to look at me. He was about my height, with long dark hair and piercing eyes.

_It has to be Edward. He looks just like I imagined. But…Luc?_

"Luc, did you read him out?" the man asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"I—I don't know. I never did that before. But it was me reading."

"Can someone please tell me what's happening?" I asked again, my hysteria growing.

The man looked at me again. _Undoubtedly he's confused. I hope he doesn't lose control._ "Of course," he said. "But you'll have to pay attention. It's quite complicated. Meggie, get back in bed." He took a seat beside the little boy, who had to be his son.

"My name is Mortimer Folchart; this is my daughter Meggie, and my son, Luc. When Meggie was very young, I discovered that I had the ability to bring things—including characters—out of books.

"One night, while reading a book called _Inkheart_, I read some characters out of the book, and Meggie's mother went in.

"Several years after that, Meggie and I were able to set everything straight, and we were reunited with my wife."

I saw in his mind a woman who closely resembled Meggie, though with darker blond hair. Mortimer's thoughts toward her… they reminded me of how I felt about Bella. I winced internally, trying to keep my expression smooth.

"A year later, Resa, Meggie, Resa's aunt, and I all went to the Inkworld together. We decided to stay in the book, live there permanently. Five years ago, Luc was born, in the Inkworld. But every year, Meggie reads us back out into our world for a month, so Elinor, Resa's aunt, can keep up with her book collection.

"This year Meggie took ill, so she had Luc begin to read her this book." Mortimer held up _Twilight_. "I read it myself yesterday, and it's quite a good story." He paused. _Can you really read minds?_

"Yes," I said. "Right now, aside from telling the story, you're worried about the fact that Luc has Meggie's and your gift. You're wondering how I'm feeling now that I'm away from Bella—horrible—and you're curious as to whether Forks really exists."

"What was that?" Meggie asked. She'd crawled back into bed on her father's orders, but was sitting up, sipping on some tea. "Is that what Mo's _thinking_?"  
"Some vampires have talents," Mo explained. "Edward can hear people's thoughts."

_Cool_, Luc thought. _Wha I am thinkin? _

"You're speculating whether you could have brought a better person out of the book," I told him. "And if you'd read Bella here, you'd understand why the answer to that is yes."

Meggie hesitated. "Are you really a vampire?" she asked, point-blank._ I have a Dracula in my bedroom._

"I'm not going to drink your blood," I reassured her. "My family and I do not drink human blood, only animals'. I do, however, have to be careful. Smelling humans' blood tempts me, and I'm strong enough to kill any of you without even meaning to."

Both the children's breathing spiked. _Luc, what have you done? _Meggie moaned in her head. _I knew I shouldn't have read this book._

Luc, too, was unsure that I was good news. _Don' kill anybody please they'd be dead and I be sad. Go back, back. _

"Don't worry," I said, wishing for Jasper's calming talent. "I'm quite in control."

Mortimer was wondering what to do next. _Everyone has to know about him, of course. But what then? Read him back? I'm not sure if any of us are up for that. Should he stay? Maybe he should go to the States, see if Forks is a real town. Find the author, maybe?_

"No," I said tersely. I did not want to meet the person who had thought of me and put me down on paper. "Going to Washington is probably a good idea, though. I need to see how much of my life this writer based on fact."

"You say taking a plane is faster than running?" Mo said. "Would you like us to go with you?"

I considered that. These people seemed truly contrite about what they'd done to me, and they seemed to really want to help me. Besides, if people had read the book about me, it would be a good idea to have some non-vampires along.

In this world, humans would not notice my beauty, or shy away from me unconsciously. They might note what they'd read in that stupid book, and discern what I was. And if that happened…

However, with other humans, people might not notice me as much. Of course, I'd have to conceal myself. If I could still read minds, and if I hadn't lost my strength, then surely I would still sparkle in the sun. My horrible, granite skin reflecting the sun…Bella stroking my glittering face…

I shook my head infinitesimally. "Sure," I answered Mo's question. "Any—or all—of you can come."

Mo looked at Meggie. "Would you like to go?"

Meggie nodded vigorously. "Can Doria come too?" In her thoughts I saw a human boy with long, wavy hair and a kind smile. Like Mortimer's thoughts toward his wife, Meggie's affections for this boy sent waves of pain through me.

"I want to go, too!" Luc looked excited. _Never get to go places, want to hear Edward's stories…oh listening to me. Shh._

I chuckled lightly at Luc's thoughts. "If it's okay with your father, you can come."

"If Luc goes, I'll probably need to go, too," Mortimer mused. _I have a few questions…_

"Mo, I feel bad about leaving Resa and Elinor," Meggie voiced. "Maybe I should stay—"

"Nonsense," Mo said. "They'll have plenty to do what with organizing books and cleaning house. If all goes well, we should return by the end of the week."

"What are we waiting for?" Luc demanded, bouncing out of his seat. "Let's prepare!"

As it turned out, Luc had never taken a trip in this world. His idea of preparing for a journey was taking plenty of food and wearing shoes suitable for walking miles on end. Meggie was in charge of packing suitcases, while Mortimer took me to the kitchen and introduced me to the rest of the household: Doria, Meggie's boyfriend, Mo's wife, her aunt Elinor, and the librarian in Elinor's house, Darius. They'd been cleaning the library but were now all pitching in to make lunch.

My first impression of Elinor was that she was loud, rather rude, and deeply insensitive.

"Goodness sakes, who is _this?_ Surely not that Edward fellow from _Twilight_. And I must say, it was quite an unmoving story. Not well written in the slightest. I'm sure that the love of his life is simply _perishing_ without him. But look at him; does he look distraught at all? No!"

"Be considerate, Elinor," Darius, a small, nervous-looking man said quietly. "Not everyone wears their hearts on their sleeves." Then he turned to me. "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Cullen," he said. _What a bad impression we've made on him. _"Elinor can be a little tactless at the worst of times,"

I nodded once to indicate that it was all right, but I was crumbling inside. Elinor had spoken my worst fears, drawing them straight to the surface. What if Bella didn't miss me at all? What if, when she woke up, she would shrug me off and continue with her life? After all, what did I offer her anyway? Either a fruitless lifetime with someone cold and frozen, or else an eternity doomed to the same fate as me and my family.

Resa, on the other hand, was thinking about her time away from her husband. She, too, had wondered whether Mo had bothered to search for her, or if he had given her up for lost and moved on.

_I'll bet he's absolutely devastated inside. But he doesn't seem like the sort of person a girl would just forget. We'll get him back to her._

She stepped forward, ready to speak calming words, but I held out my hand. "Thank you," I said, signifying that she didn't have to say anything. "You've already given me comfort."

Doria was studying me, sizing me up. _Doesn't look that strong. But Mo said he was like Hercules. Whoever that is. _"How strong are you?" he said bluntly.

I cast about, looking for something to demonstrate. My eyes settled on a large rack of steak knives. I selected one that seemed to be of no vital importance, and pulled it out.

_If he hurts himself with that… _Resa was fearful. I wanted to tell her that her worry was unnecessary, but she would find that out soon enough.

_How is cutting himself up going to prove anything?_ Doria wondered. My well-being didn't seem to matter to him much.

I raked the sharp side of the knife against my arm. Resa gasped, first in alarm, and then in wonder as the knife slid off my hard skin with a quiet scratching noise. It hadn't made a mark.

Mortimer and Elinor, having already read the book about me, were not surprised at my unyielding, rock-hard skin. Resa, however, was astonished. _My goodness. How could anyone ever harm him?_

Doria was still unimpressed. _So his skin doesn't break. And? What does that have to do with strength?_

This child was annoying me. Not as much as Jacob Black, whose feelings toward my Bella made me green with envy. I just couldn't understand why his manner was unpleasant to me. He was kind to everyone else, even brashly mannered Elinor. I couldn't fathom from his thoughts his objection toward me.

I decided to give him a bit more. My fist closed gently around the knife blade, then opened back up.

Even Elinor gasped at the twisted hunk of metal that had been a razor-sharp steak knife. It had given way like soft earth beneath my fingers, and now showed the contours of my hands, like a child had squeezed a hunk of clay in his fist.

Doria was grudgingly impressed. _Couldn't beat him in a wrestling match, that's for sure. I wonder how he handles a sword?_

Young boys. Always competitive. I could show him just how dangerous with any kind of weapon I was…

"Mo, what's the safe combination?" Luc poked his head around the kitchen door. _Meggie says is what we have maybe not enough. _

"Don't worry about the money," I said, with the first ghost of a smile I'd worn since coming here. I patted my wallet, which I had generously refilled just yesterday. "I've got this."

...

The next day, after Meggie's cough had eased slightly, we set off for the airport. Meggie, still not fully recovered, was bundled up in two long coats and knit woolen pants. I was wearing a hooded jacket from Mo's closet with the hood pulled over my head. The family had helped me cover every inch of my skin possible, but thankfully, it was cloudy today anyway.

Mo could hardly keep hold of Luc's hand; the boy was jumping around as though there were springs attached to his feet.

Doria kept his arm protectively around Meggie, and always walked between me and her.

"I hardly remember how to drive," Mo commented as he climbed into the driver's seat of the Folcharts' rental car. _Elinor should drive us, at least to the airport._

I began to offer to drive, but then I remembered Bella's reaction to my driving speed. These humans, so unaccustomed to being in a car, would hardly react better.

It took nearly half an hour to arrive at the airport. Mo drove slowly, gingerly, with the edginess of someone who had not been behind the wheel in a long time. Sitting in the front seat next to him, I never saw the speedometer go above thirty miles an hour.

Luc kept up a constant chatter in the back, though no one was really listening. Meggie was reading the _Twilight_ book, and Doria was peeking over her shoulder. He, however, could not read as fast as she could; he'd only learned to read a few years ago.

_A little slower, please. I can't understand the story if I miss every other page. Aw, come on!_

I was concentrated on the story in Meggie's head. It was fascinating to see everything that had happened through Bella's eyes, though she still had it all wrong. She always thought I was the better of us. She couldn't be more wrong. She was perfect, selfless, beautiful.

I was a monster.

When we finally arrived at the airport, we entered the terminal that had a flight going to New York, New York. Mo and Doria loaded the luggage onto trolleys. Doria kept a hawk's eye on Meggie, who was seated on the couch right next to me.

Luc, on Meggie's other side, swung his dangling legs and leaned out to look at me. "Can you touch things without breaking them?" he asked in his high voice.

"Luc!" Meggie reproached him in a fierce whisper. "You can't talk about these things in public! Edward can't be noticed at all!"

Luc lowered his head, guilty thoughts running through his head. _Didn't ruin it all I think. But no talking. Talk in my mind._

I laughed lightly again. I hadn't been around small children very much; I'd forgotten how amusing their minds were. They were just so sweet and sincere and _innocent._

I leaned around Meggie and gently laid my hand on the top of his head, careful not to touch him any less delicately than I touched Bella.

Luc stared at me, a huge smile growing on his face. _So you can hold your girlfriend's hand, _he thought. _Never had a girlfriend. Miss her if I did. You do, I know._

I'd also forgotten how perceptive children were. Luc noticed everything the adults only absorbed on a subconscious level. He was also surprisingly compassionate for a five-year-old.

_Omigosh, vampire alert!_

My head whipped up at the thought, my eyes locking with a small girl's. She couldn't have been more than nine or ten. The family of four was passing by our seats, loaded with baggage; this girl was the youngest. She'd noticed me, dressed in all black, but she'd also seen my pale forehead under my hood. Her thought had been a careless throwaway line she was considering whispering to her older sister. Now all thoughts of jokes vanished as she tried to hold my gaze, and couldn't. Though I was wearing sunglasses, my stare was intimidating.

_Ookay…That was a little creepy. It's like he heard me. _The girl scurried away with her family, hanging on to her mother's arm.

_Be more careful, _I chided myself. _Don't react to thoughts. Listen. Only listen._

Doria came over to Meggie and tugged her off the couch by the hand. "I finished my watch yesterday," he said softly. He rarely spoke in front of me, and now he seemed to be trying to exclude me from the conversation. But I still looked at the watch with interest through Meggie's mind. It was a whimsical ornament, very crude and mechanical-looking. But Doria had made it himself, mostly from materials in the Inkworld, and he was immensely proud of it. He was quite an inventive young man, I observed. _What_ was his quarrel with me?

"Ed? We're ready to get the tickets." Mortimer and I had agreed not to say my full name in front of other people. I rose from my seat and passed him the proper amount.

Within the hour, the five of us were boarded on a plane bound for the U.S. It gave me a strong sense of déjà vu. The last time I'd been on a plane, I'd been on my way to find Bella. Now I was searching again, not for Bella, but for a way back to her. Not with my family this time, but with four humans who were practically strangers. Although I wasn't directly on my way back to Bella, I felt better doing something rather than sitting around Elinor's house, as I had the day before as we waited for Meggie to recover.

_I'll get back to you, Bella. Somehow._

* * *

Whew! Sorry it's so boring right now. The story'll pick up...oh, in about ten years. Or whenever I actually get inspired.

Well, come to think of it, the latter will probably take more than ten years. So... see you in 2023!

**Thank you for reading KylerM.**


	5. TRAVELS

Hi again!

I'm not going to gush about how amazing people who click on this story out of dead boredom are, but I want to thank each and every person for wasting their time on me and my uninspired ideas. Jesus loves you, and that's the highest praise I can give. :)

* * *

TRAVELS

"Hey, Ed, look," Meggie whispered across the aisle. We'd been on the plane for several hours, and Mo, Luc, and Doria were sleeping, their dreams so incoherent even I couldn't understand them.

Meggie had finished the _Twilight_ book just minutes before and was now scanning through her selection of movies.

I looked through her eyes at the title she'd seen, and let out a derisive snort. _Twilight._ I just seemed to be everywhere in this world, didn't I?

I began the movie from my own selections with the volume on my headphones turned very low. I hated the movie from the very beginning. The acting was horrible. The lead actress looked nothing like Bella, expect for her brown eyes, and they weren't even real.

**(A/N: This is not my actual opinion of the movie, so nobody get offended)**

However, I did appreciate their portrayal of James, the tracker vampire who had almost killed my Bella. I wasn't exactly sure what had happened in that ballet studio, but the movie did seem like a good depiction. I had a hard time sitting through the scene; it brought back so many painful memories.

_That boy is watching _Twilight_. And the girl across the aisle called him Ed earlier. Huh…_

I stiffened but didn't turn my head at the slightly suspicious thoughts. Most of the passengers were asleep, but this one, a man a few seats behind Meggie, hadn't settled down. In his head, I was rigid in my seat, my hands clamped on the armrests. Knowing he was watching me, I relaxed visibly and let my head droop slowly to the left. With the movie still playing, I seemed to have finally succumbed to my exhaustion.

_Now he's falling asleep. Oh, well. _The man went back to the Solitaire game on his laptop. I, however, stayed in my position of feigned sleep. It was just as comfortable as any other posture I could adopt, and it helped me blend in more.

Meggie had been watching the Twilight movie herself. When it ended, she glanced over at me. _He's sleeping? But vampires don't sleep. Maybe in this world he does?_

I opened one of my eyes slightly and winked at her. No, I wasn't tired, and I never would be. Just another aspect of vampire canon that no one would suspect, had it not been for that _book._

Meggie smiled at me. _I really am sorry, _she thought. _I hate when this sort of thing happens. _She was now thinking about the time when she was twelve, she'd read a little tin soldier out of his book. _He was so sad, _she remembered. _And so scared._

Meggie seemed just as kindhearted as her little brother. She ached for the tin soldier, though the event had happened close to seven years ago.

She reached over and entwined her fingers in Doria's limp hand. _I don't know what I'd do if I lost him._

"Meggie?" I said quietly, addressing her by name for the first time. "Why doesn't Doria like me? I can only tell that he dislikes me, not why."

Meggie thought. _Maybe he's scared of you, _she mused. _He told me about the knife._

"No, I don't think that's it," I said. "It's not fearful, it's like… what Rosalie feels toward Bella." That was the best way I could describe the emotion emanating off Doria. Then something fell into place. What had I told Bella, how Rosalie felt? _She's jealous…_

Was Doria jealous… of _me?_ Why? Did he want to be pulled out of this story, away from his love?

Or was it that he was afraid that I would somehow take his place? _Young boys. Always competitive._

Meggie, while I had been putting the pieces together, was pondering along the same lines. _Jealous, like Rosalie? That's ludicrous, of course. Edward is kind, but he's not for me. And besides, he has Bella waiting for him. Maybe he said something to Doria. No—surely not. Would he?_

"It's not really rational, what he feels," I assured her. "It's instinctual." It was like when Mike Newton asked Bella to the dance. I had been fearful that she was somehow attracted to him. My qualms, however, had been unfounded.

"I'll talk to him," Meggie said, positioning herself against Doria. "But right now, I'm going to sleep a bit."

I nodded. She wasn't quite recovered from her bug; sleep was a good idea.

Meggie closed her eyes. _Mo said there was a sequel. Something about a moon? _

A sequel? Wonderful. For another book, there had to be more adversity.

_Please don't let it happen to Bella,_ I prayed silently. _Please let it be me. Let it fall on me. Not Bella. _She'd already had enough misfortune for a human lifetime.

_I'll look for it…sleep first…crescent moon, full…_Meggie's thoughts became unintelligible as she drifted off, leaving me with troubled thoughts.

...

I'd been to New York before, but none of my companions had. Since there were five hours until the plane to Olympia, Washington took off, we'd decided to walk around a bit. Luc, tired from the long flight,—despite the fact that he'd slept through half of it—wasn't nearly as lively as usual. Still, he pointed out everything that looked even remotely interesting to him, including shoe-shining stands and "strange circling things that stand where doors should."

Doria was interested in the skyscrapers. He kept craning his head up to view the tops of buildings, curious to see if they really touched the sky.

Mo had buried his head in a guidebook, occasionally throwing out suggestions of places to go. _I should have brought Elinor's camera. There's so much to see._

Meggie strolled along at Doria's side, simply drinking in everything around her.

I was not completely at ease due to the fact that the clouds were not nearly as profuse as they had been in Italy. I kept my head down and walked a few feet away from the Folcharts, so as to not attract attention to them if the sun broke through.

Meggie glanced up at the sky, worried too. _What if the clouds dissipate? What will Edward do?_

I had no answer for that. Run, I supposed. But to where?

At that moment, I saw a reflection of something shiny on the sidewalk in front of me. At that angle, it would have to be something I had on me. But I had nothing reflective; even the zipper of the jacket I was wearing was black. It had to be…

In a millisecond, I had twisted my head to look at the clouds. The barest corner of the sun was peeking out from behind a cloud, bathing a small portion of the street side in sunlight. The sun shone directly on me, and it had caught my face.

I was sparkling.

With hundreds of people around.

I didn't stop to think, I just dove out of the rays of light into shadow. There was a very thin protrusion of stone hanging over a storefront, but it wasn't enough to shield me completely.

I ducked swiftly in the door nearest to me. Thankfully, it was not a shop for women's lingerie as I had briefly feared; it was a small bookstore.

_Teenagers these days. They'll wear anything. _The elderly man behind the counter watched me disapprovingly, as I examined the store from the doorway.

Most of the space in the shop was given to comfortable-looking armchairs and coffee tables, though there wasn't even a cappuccino machine in the store. Nearly all of the books, except for some on display tables, were behind the counter on tall, rickety bookshelves. The clerk behind the register did not seem keen to help anyone dressed in black or wearing sunglasses; I was both.

Well, if he did not commend modern clothing, then he probably wouldn't have been swept up in the vampire mania that seemed to be seizing contemporary literature.

_Well, I have to greet him at least. _"Erm, hello. Can I help you find a particular book?"

"_Wuthering Heights_," I said mechanically. It was Bella's favorite.

_Hmm. Didn't take him for a classics fan. Maybe he's not as empty-headed as most his age. His appearance certainly doesn't substantiate that._ "One my favorites," the man said, stooping down behind the register to look for it. "Yours?"

Nodding absently, I took the book he held out to me and passed over a twenty. In reality, I despised the characters that lived at Wuthering Heights. It was a constant battle of hate between them, and even the hero and heroine were cruel, selfish people.

I glanced at the window in my peripheral vision. Cloudy again. "Thanks," I said, turning from the door.

"Come back soon…" the man trailed off as I pushed the door open. _Not nearly as peculiar as some of the people I've gotten, but still._

Back on the busy street, I explored pedestrians' minds, searching for the Folcharts. I might have been able to follow their scents, but there were just too many people.

_I told her to wear a jacket. It's a miracle she hasn't frozen yet._

_Where is a taxi when you need it?!_

_Hot chocolate, cappuccino, I don't care, just something warm._

_I have a meeting in Queens in an hour. Can't this line go faster?_

_The sun's behind the clouds again. I told Doria we should have waited for him._

I began weaving through the crowd, following Meggie's anxious thoughts. I spotted Mortimer's dark head standing idle at the corner of a block. Pushing through the throng, I reached them in seconds.

Mo turned to me and smiled in relief. _Thought we'd lost you. It's sunny out._

"Do you mind if I go back to the airport?" I muttered to him. "You all go on, but I don't want to risk being spotted."

At Mo's nod, I began pressing my way back toward the airport.

I had to be more careful. From what I could tell, no one had gotten suspicious, but what if someone made the connection? What if there had been another person in that bookstore, a hormonal teenage girl who was _obsessed_ with vampire novels? What if I had broken something in my haste to get out of the sun—like the glass-paneled door?

There were too many risks. I resolved to stay indoors until we reached the Pacific Northwest. At least there I could count on the sun to be hidden.

Back at the airport, I plunked down on a couch and took out the book I'd bought. _Wuthering Heights._ Again, I wondered how Bella could love it like she did. Bella was so kind and caring, so different from the people in the novel.

Bella.

I tossed the book away from me with such revulsion that it might have been made of manure. The book brought back all the times I had watched her read it, and I'd marveled at her inexplicable attraction to it.

Thinking about Bella hurt so much. I wondered if she even thought about me. Maybe she would begin talking to Jacob Black…

"Hey."

I looked up into the face of a woman, about thirty years old. She had reddish hair and bright blue eyes. I tensed for her words, but she wasn't thinking about how much I looked like a vampire.

"You dropped this." _More like threw it, but that would be impolite._ She held out _Wuthering Heights. _Her thoughts were only concerned with the book I'd flung away. This was new.

"Thank you," I said courteously. I took the book and stowed it in my pocket. I'd chuck it in the trash can next time.

"I came here for a book convention," the woman continued conversationally. Her voice was slightly nasally. "But it was all classic stuff like that." She indicated _Wuthering Heights. _"Not that I have anything against it," she amended hastily, seeing that her comment might be offensive to me. "I just prefer contemporary literature." _I can actually _understand _it; I don't need a thesaurus for Scott Westerfeld._

"Ah," I replied noncommittally. I really just wanted her to leave me alone. Conversing with too many humans could be dangerous.

An announcement sounded on the loudspeaker.

"That's my flight boarding," the woman said, looking harried. _I hope I don't get patted down again. That is violating my personal space._ She grabbed her suitcase off the ground and rushed off to the escalators.

Humans. Thank goodness their memories faded over time. The people who had noticed me so far had probably already forgotten me.

* * *

**Thank you for reading KylerM.**


	6. NOT THE SAME

Wow, three chapters posted in one day! I am on a roll!

* * *

NOT THE SAME

As we exited the Olympia airport, I breathed in the familiar, welcoming scent of damp, clammy air. Rain. Clouds. It was wonderful.

My companions didn't really agree with me. Luc was huddled up in his thick jacket, hardly daring to even touch anything for fear it would wet his hand. Mo kept his head down, trying not to get water in his eyes. Meggie was not faring well, with her fever still not really over. Doria had taken off his own heavy jacket and draped it across her shoulders. Now he stood shivering in just a sweater while Meggie started to perspire.

They huddled under an overhang protruding out from the side of a building while I rented a car to drive to Forks. The geography was not as simple as I remembered; I had to get a map too.

We drove to the Olympic Peninsula in a spacious, luxury rental sedan that I'd wheedled out of the dealer for a minimal amount. Doria, Luc, and Meggie slept most of the way. Mo sat in the front seat with me as I drove—slowly—to the place I'd called my home for almost three years. And with Bella there, it would always be my home.

"Edward," Mo began gravely.

Although Mortimer was usually fairly serious, I hadn't heard him sound so troubled since Meggie had first alerted him of Luc's reading accident.

"Yes?"

"I looked up Forks before we left Italy. The woman who wrote your books… well, she didn't do much research."

"Let me guess," I said, a pit of dread coiling in my stomach. "There is no such place."

"No, it's real. Just—I thought I should tell you… it won't be like you remember."

I couldn't believe that someone could be so foolish. Write a bestselling novel that took place in a real town, without using any elements from the town, except the name? "I don't think so," I said brashly. "Nobody would be _that _stupid."

_I beg to differ._

I chortled. No, for once, Mortimer was wrong. Bella may not be there, but my Forks was still the same.

...

When we arrived in Forks, it was getting dark. It didn't matter to me, though. I could see the sign announcing the town perfectly.

"Weird," Meggie said abstractedly from the back. "It matches the one in the movie."

She was right. There was no official sign announcing Forks in my world, but the sign in that idiotic movie I'd watched on the plane was identical to the one we'd just driven past.

We drove on. I kept a sharp eye out for the turnoff to my house, but it didn't seem to be there. I'd counted on being able to return to my house. Someone else probably lived there, but just seeing it again, being close to it, would calm me. But the shaded turnoff to my house wasn't on the road.

Maybe Mo was right. Maybe the Forks I knew _was_ only an offshoot of this place, and they had nothing in common except the name. No, I didn't believe that. There had to be _some_ familiarity.

"Edward, why don't we get out and walk?" Mortimer asked. "I think the fresh air would do us all good."

"But it's _wet_," Luc argued.

I chuckled. "At least you're not in that river." For we had just passed over a bridge, the sign declaring the water underneath the Quillayute River. At last, something recognizable in the landscape! The turnoff to my house wasn't there, but surely if we just followed the river to where it curved around my backyard like I remembered, we would find my home.

The only problem was, the river was off-road.

"Yes, that's a good idea," I said, having analyzed all this so quickly that there was barely a pause in my words.

We parked the car in an empty warehouse lot, one that I had no memory of, and walked back to the river. The humans made slow progress, even Luc, who still wore his coat and refused to touch anything.

As we walked it started to rain again, and the banks of the river got wetter and slicker.

"Careful," I warned the others. "It's getting a bit slippery."

No sooner had I said that than Meggie's foot caught a patch of exposed mud, and her foot slid neatly out from under her. Doria made a grab for her but he missed. His swipe only caught her more off-balance, and she tilted toward the riverbank, a ten-foot drop to the rock-studded waters below.

_No—Dor—_ Meggie tried to make sense of what was happening in the little time she had: She was going to fall.

In less than a second, I flew toward her and seized her arm, knocking Doria back on accident. My arm wasn't too tight around Meggie's upper arm, but I still readjusted my grip as I guided her slowly back to firm ground.

"Meggie! Are you all right?" Mo had seen little of the episode, but he'd registered that his daughter was going to fall into the river before I'd caught her.

"Mo, I'm fine. Wouldn't be if it wasn't for Edward, though—_thank _you," she said in a rush. I could hear her heart, recognizing danger after the fact, drumming against her chest like a jackhammer.

"No sweat," I said ironically, making Meggie laugh.

_He—he just—_ Doria. He hadn't gotten off the ground, and I could see out of the corner of my eye that he was glowering at me irritably.

"You okay?" I turned to him and offered him my hand.

"No," Doria said, ignoring my hand and getting up by himself.

"I'm sorry about pushing you," I said, wondering why he was so ticked. He wasn't hurt. "You're all right, though?"

"_No,"_ Doria said emphatically.

Anger started to grow in a pit of my stomach. Why was he so belligerent? What had I done to him?

"Doria," Meggie said. "Edward practically just saved my life. I would hope you'd be a bit more thankful."

_Thankful for what? That it was him and not me? Why?_ This last question burst from Doria's thoughts and hung in the air, visible to only me and him.

"What is your problem?" I said hotly. "What do you have against me?"

_You're trying to steal my— _he broke off mid-thought, knowing I could hear.

"I am _not _trying to steal your girlfriend," I told him, nearly yelling. "Why do you think we're here? Sightseeing? No, I'm trying to get back to _my _girlfriend, _my_ love—"

"I don't know and I don't care," Doria said vaguely. "I'm taking a walk. By _myself,_" he added adamantly as Meggie made to follow him.

And he stalked off into the forest.

"He's just steamed," I said the remaining humans. "Just give him time to cool off."

"I don't know why he's acting like this," Meggie muttered, half angry, half embarrassed. "Something just—I suppose you and he simply aren't meant to get along."

"Doria's the only one with the problem," Luc interjected, taking my hard hand consolingly. "I think you're very nice not to kill us and let us help you find your girlfriend."

I patted Luc's head in thanks. The simple, earnest thoughts of a child were a remarkable alleviation to multifaceted angers and dramas that adults harbored.

Mo, vexed at Doria's outburst, was now troubled at what might happen to him, or what he might do out of anger. _What if he meets an animal, or falls into the river himself?_

"I'll keep an eye on him," I promised, making Mo smile in relief. I resigned myself to the task and mentally chased after Doria, delving into his mind.

_Stupid, self-absorbed superhero. I hate him. Why can't Meggie just send him back and we'll all be happy?_

I still didn't understand Doria's blind odium. If I liked Meggie, then why were we trekking across the country looking for a link to my world, to Bella? It didn't make any sense.

"Let's keep walking," Mortimer said, taking Luc's sleeve, as he still refused to bare his hands.

Meggie moved closer to me. _Is Doria okay?_

"Yes," I replied. "He's away from the river, but I don't like the trees he's moving into. They're pretty thick." I was surprised at how fast he'd moved into the dense parts of the forest.

Our remaining party continued down the river, looking for any signs of a house. There were none.

"Edward, even if you find your house here, what will you do?" Luc said to me. "It's not like your family will be there waiting."

I had thought of this, but I'd put it out of my mind because I honestly didn't know what I'd do. "I don't know. I suppose I need to just get back in my book." Without meaning to, I looked at Mo.

Mortimer held my gaze. _You want me to do it. But I can't._

"I understand why you don't want to," I said, trying to placate him. "And I'd never make you. But who else would do it?"

"Well, who we really need is Orpheus," Meggie interjected. "But he's probably dead, and he hates us besides."

"Who's Orpheus?" I said, only able to think of the mythological man who brought his wife back from the dead, for a short while.

"He is the most despicable man I have ever met," Mo gave his daughter a reproving look. "There is no way I'd ever want his help again. When he helped us before, I almost died." In his mind he conjured a vain, self-righteous person who only used his reading ability when he would gain something, even at the expense of others.

"No, I wouldn't want his help, either," I agreed. "But it would be nice if someone as talented as he was here and willing to help us."

Mo nodded in agreement. _And I wouldn't have to risk anything._

Meanwhile, I stayed tuned to Doria's angry thoughts. _Too chivalrous. Why can't I be like that? When have I ever saved Meggie? Urgh. It bet she'd like it if I _did _save her. I should—I should go back and bump her, just subtly. Then I can grab her and steady her. Score one for me. No—no, I should do it when she's right in front of a puddle. That's perfect. Then Meggie will stop talking to Mister Chivalry and Courtesy and he'll give up. Genius!_ He turned around, satisfied with his plan, and then stopped dead. _Where…did all those trees come from?_

He was lost. Wonderful. I could easily follow his scent and bring him back, but he hated me. Doing something nice for him would probably just make him hate me more. I could take Meggie to him, but how could I lead them back with without Doria noticing me? Maybe if I gave her a signal of some sort…

_I don't like that sound. _Where _did I come from?_

If there was anything that could make this situation even more impossibly convoluted, it had just arrived. To me, that sound signaled the arrival of my favorite meal. But to a human, it meant mortal danger.

A mountain lion.

The growling noise was closer to Doria than it was to me. It could find him more quickly than Mo or Meggie, and Doria certainly wouldn't want me to go after him, even to warn him.

But if I acted now, then I could probably rid of the animal before it got too close to Doria, and I could get a snack out of the bargain.

"Be right back." I ducked into the foliage away from the river, searching for the heartbeat and telltale scent of a carnivore. Hopefully I could locate it and kill it before Doria spotted it or me.

_I think I'll just stick it out for awhile up here, like in the human nests. _Doria had found a tall tree with wide limbs, good for climbing. He shimmied up the tree trunk until he reached the branches. From there he hoisted himself up the strong boughs, nimbly weaving through them. _Shoot!_ About fifteen feet in the air, Doria had dropped something out of his pocket. It was that funny little pocket watch I'd seen him show Meggie at the airport in Italy, the one he'd made himself.

I drew closer to the tree that Doria was in, listening to him and watching him through his thoughts. But before I could actually see him I became aware of another mind close to his. There were no actual words in the thoughts, but I could sense the hungry tenor. The lion.

I hurried toward it, wanting to finish it off quickly so Doria wouldn't be in any danger. But the animal's scent wasn't anywhere near me, and its heartbeat kept fluctuating. It was moving around, ever closer to Doria's tree.

_Whoa, whoa, whoa—_"Aah!"_ Glad that didn't hurt as much as I thought it would._

This just got harder and harder. Doria had jumped from the tree to retrieve his precious trinket, and the noise had attracted the mountain lion. I saw in its dim mind its prey: the human boy who hated me. It let out a readying growl and prepared to pounce.

Doria heard it. _Okay, back in the tree._

But just as he began slithering up the trunk again, the lion sprang into his view. It was an ugly tan color and at least seven feet long. It was young and lithe, and its teeth were bared in hunger.

"Whoa!" _Up, up, up!_

The fool. Mountain lions could climb too, and this one was even better than most. It dug its claws into the tree and started bounding up, much faster than Doria. When he looked over his shoulder, the lion was almost at his heels.

_Please, somebody save me._

I'd been reluctant to interfere, not because I hated Doria, but because he wouldn't want me to save him.

But he would die if I didn't.

I streaked to the tree up which Doria was clambering frantically. Gathering my strength, I bent my knees and sprang straight up. I shot past the lion in seconds and landed on a branch. I reached out and snatched Doria's arm. Then I continued up the tree, climbing one-handed.

The lion, momentarily confused with the disappearance of its prey, paused, then snarled and doggedly persisted up the tree.

I stuck Doria on a branch near the top that appeared too thin but was quite strong. It certainly froze him up.

"Stay here," I hissed. Then I launched myself down the tree, landing square on the lion's head. It roared in surprise and tried to swat me off, but I simply kicked its claws free from the bark of the tree. We plummeted to the ground. I landed right on top of the angry lion. It growled and swiped at me with its razor-sharp claws.

I batted the big paw away easily. A look of wordless, vague confusion flashed across the cat's face before I lashed out at its neck.

I heard the _snap_ of the bone instantly. The animal flailed for a moment under me, and then seized up and went still. It was dead.

With all the warm blood sitting unguarded in front of me, it was tempting to just drink and sate my thirst before retrieving Doria from the tree. But his cynical, almost scornful thoughts held me back.

_Crazy strong and insanely fast. Probably thought I was going to steal his food. Well, aren't you going to feast now? Suck the thing dry, right in front of me?_

I wouldn't. There was no way I was going to act like a vampire in his presence. Now was my chance to make up with him. "No."

"No?" _Why?_

"Because you're here." I walked back to the tree at human pace and climbed slowly back up the tree toward him. "I want to show you that I'm not a bloodsucking demon or a showoff superhero." Although I really was the former.

_But aren't you?_

"By nature, yes," I responded. "But…my Bella has taught me how to fight against that. She's turned me into quite a human." I smirked, suddenly reminiscent of Bella reassuring me that I wasn't a monster. Now, somehow, I could look back on those memories and smile rather than cringe. Because remembering her that way… it was harder to believe that she could look past me as easily as I sometimes imagined.

Doria was watching my face. _You really love her, don't you?_

"With…everything I am," I said softly, my smile fading. No matter how I thought about Bella, she still wasn't here with me. We were isolated from each other, stranded.

Doria watched my expression change with pity. _Should I…I don't know._ Very hesitantly, he reached out and laid his hand tentatively on my upper arm. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you," I said. At last I was seeing the kind side of Doria, the side that everyone else saw. "Thank you for your sympathy."

"No, I meant I'm sorry," Doria blurted. "I've been a pig. I judged you before I even knew you, and I judged wrong. You're not a showoff. You're not jealous. You're not after my girlfriend."

"I could have told you that," I told him with a smile. "I see in both of your minds how much you care for each other. You're perfect together. I couldn't wreck that, even if I wanted to."

"Thanks," Doria muttered. _What is the matter with me? Am I really that insecure? Whatever. I've completely shamed myself now._

"Think nothing of it," I said sincerely. I'd seen much worse hate, with much more severe consequences.

_Where on earth did they go? I hope they didn't meet whatever we heard growling out there._

"We should head back now," I commented. "Meggie's worried."

Doria inched his way off the limb he'd glued himself to while I dealt with the lion. "Do me a favor," he said, looking me in the eye pleadingly. "Don't tell her."

I nodded. I wouldn't tell her what had changed Doria, and she didn't need to know. It would be enough for her to see his change. She wouldn't have to stomach the cause.

_He's not really bad at all. I'm such an idiot._ Doria felt quite humiliated.

Although he didn't harbor any ill will toward me, I still wanted him to warm to me, consider me a friend. If it was possible for a human boy to consider a superhero killer his friend. "Are you afraid of falling?"

"No, not r—" Before he could finish, I'd pulled him onto my back and leapt from the tree.

...

"Doria!" _He doesn't look angry anymore. I wonder what happened._

"Hey." Doria enveloped her in a hug as she ran toward him. "Sorry."

"No, no, it's all right. But we heard growling. Did you—"

"I don't know what it was," Doria said breezily. _I need to just talk to her for a bit. _He'd felt a little out of touch with her since I'd come, and he just wanted to reconnect. "Hey, I saw some really exotic-looking flowers a way from here. I think they match some in that plant book you have."

"I'd love to see them," Meggie enthused, taking his hand. "What color were they?" Their conversation faded continually as they ventured into the forest again.

"Edward, look." Mo indicated the break in the trees several yards ahead.

A clearing. It was what I'd been looking for. Could my house, or something similar, stand there? I sped up, passing Mo and Luc and almost sliding on the mud myself.

I broke through the leaves that sparsely guarded the gap in the forest, eager to see a familiar sight once more. But when I finally entered the clearing, I found…nothing.

There was no house there, nothing but some ferns and grass. There wasn't even a driveway linking this place to the road. It appeared to be, judging from the blackened grass and stunted sprouts, the site of a fire. How had a fire started naturally here, in the wettest place in the continental U.S.?

I supposed the author had fudged on that too.

I sank to my knees just as Luc and Mo entered the clearing, but I ignored them. It was over.

There had never been anything begun to _be_ over. Forks wasn't my Forks. My Forks wasn't fact. It was a figment of a woman's imagination, a woman who lived in the desert and had likely never even been here.

There was nothing here for me, and I was stuck.

Mortimer and Meggie were cowards, and Luc was too young. They wouldn't read me back. I would be here forever, without my family, without my true world.

Without Bella.

"I'm sorry, Edward," Mortimer said, laying a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I understand how much this would have meant to you."

I didn't want his sympathy. It was his fault that I was here—still here.

"I need to be alone for a while," I heard my voice say robotically.

"Did you think this was your house?" Luc asked shrilly. "This place is too small—"

"Please," I said, pleading to Mortimer with my eyes. _Please take him away before I hit him._

"Come on, Luc." Mo took his son's hand. "Edward wants some time by himself."

"But—"

"He's sad," Mo said in an undertone. "It's hard to be sad in front of other people." _We shouldn't have come. I figured we wouldn't find anything. I should have told him—_

I didn't listen anymore. I felt like screaming. Why hadn't we found anything? There was nothing in this world. Nothing for me. I had to get out.

But no one would do it.

What I needed was an experienced reader, someone without fear, someone who wasn't afraid to take risks. Someone who had nothing to lose.

A growl sounded lightly in the forest. Surely not another lion? I made no move to get up. They could deal with it themselves.

Then Luc's terrified thoughts pierced my head. His alarm. His blind, horror-struck panic.

* * *

Now THIS is interesting! I actually had fun writing this, even though describing all the action was a pain. I wish I could magically transfer the "movie" of the story that I see in my head onto the computer, so I wouldn't have to write it out. Well, let me know when you've perfected that technology. I actually have a friend who's trying to invent a mind-reading device...

New year came while I was writing this. I resolve to...never mind. Nobody ever keeps their New Years' resolutions, myself included. I think I last made one when I was eight or nine? To read the Bible every day. Lasted MAYBE three days.

Anyway...

I'll be back soon. Or I'll try. Or maybe I'll get murdered in my sleep for daring to profane this amazing site with my pollutive non-literature.

**Thank you for reading KylerM.**


	7. OUTSIDE INFO

OUTSIDE INFO

My head snapped up, listening to the incoherent, petrified babbling in Luc's head. _Not eat drink bad she kill bad not here vampire how?_

I was running, practically flying through the trees. Was Luc about to be attacked? By what? A vampire? But there weren't any in this world…were there?

I looked through Luc's eyes. He was crouched behind Mo, peeking out at a small, pale figure. A hushed growl was building in her throat.

I snapped overhanging branches from tree trunks, finally bursting into the clearing where Mo stood face-to-face with a red-eyed vampire.

The small female vampire growled between her teeth and took a small step toward my human allies.

Luc tugged on his father's leg, causing Mo to trip. Now they lay half-sprawled on the ground. The wild vampire's thoughts were pure hunger as she crouched and leapt for the humans.

I leapt too, meeting her in midair. My momentum knocked her off course, and we fell backward. The little vampire was struggling under me, growling and snapping, desperate for blood.

"No," I snarled. She didn't stop, and she was very strong, a newborn. She was going to get the better of me soon, just by brute strength, if I didn't do something.

Though I didn't like it, I grasped her right bicep and pulled hard. Her scream was piercing as her hard, white arm came off in my hand. By the look of the scar on her still-attached shoulder, this had happened to her before.

"Get out of here!" I yelled at Luc and Mo, even now crouched on the ground. Not needing to be told twice, Luc scrambled to his feet and scuttled away, his thoughts a blur of panic.

Mo stood up more slowly, staring dumbfounded at the thrashing vampire under me. _How did she get here? _he thought, disbelieving.

"I'll find out," I said urgently. "But go, now! She's dangerous!"

Mo backed up in the direction Luc had run. His stride quickened after a few paces, then he turned around and ran for it, all dignity forgotten.

The newborn didn't stop fighting me once Mo and Luc had gone. "That's enough," I said in a hard tone. "If you sit still I might give you your arm back and let you live. But _stop fighting._" I pinned her severed arm to the ground as it scrabbled against my shoulder, ripping the seam of my shirt.

"Blood," the girl hissed. "I—need—it."

"No, you don't," I told her firmly. "I'm around them all the time, and I never get the urge to kill them."

"Because of your _stupid _pet human," she said scathingly. I flattened the impulse to pull off her other arm, at the same time wondering what she meant. Was she calling Bella my pet? How did she know I spent time with a human?

Despite her angry words, the girl struggled less and less the longer I held her down.

Her thoughts calmed down enough so I could understand them. _How did he get here? Surely that woman_ _didn't bring him here. She didn't seem to care about anything but me._

"Who are you? And what woman are you referring to?" I snarled.

_He _is_ redheaded. Is he the mind reader?_

"Yes, I can read minds. Now answer my questions."

"I'm Bree Tanner," the little vampire whispered. "A woman brought me here—I don't know who she is."

"Brought you from where?" I demanded. Was it possible that we might have found what we were hoping for: a skilled, expert reader?

"From…from this."

She reached into her jacket pocket with her remaining arm and pulled out a rather small, black bound book.

"This was on the ground when I appeared here, and there was this note inside it."

I examined the book. On the spine was the title _The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner._ There was a note sticking out from the pages. It was a piece of wide-ruled paper folded in half, and the note inside was handwritten in blue ink.

_Dear Bree, _it said_. I know this must be disorienting, so let me explain to you. Your world, the one where vampires exist, is just one of many worlds, and all sorts of things happen in them. In this world, you are the only vampire around._

_All of these different worlds are connected by books, and certain people (I am one of them) can transport people and things from one world to another by reading the book aloud. This book you're holding in your hands is the one I read you out of._

_You might be angry at me for taking you away from everything you know, but please realize that I'm saving you from a terrible demise. Read the book and it will all be plain._

_I hope you'll forgive me, though I'm choosing to remain anonymous. You only need know that I am simply one of many admirers who wanted to save you, but I had the power to do so. Best wishes, A Friend._

I looked at the vampire, Bree, on the ground. She was no longer struggling to run after Mo and Luc, and her thoughts were only anxious as to what I was going to do to her. "Here," I said brusquely, handing her arm back. She licked the end of it and reattached the venom-smeared appendage.

"You were read out of a book?" I asked her, not unkindly.

"Yes, by a lady. Like I said, I don't know who she is." It had now occurred to the vampire that I was not going to hurt her, and she seemed ready to answer any question I asked her.

"How long ago was this?"

"A couple of months, maybe. I've been trying not hunt as often as I did, um, in the book, because I stand out here."

"Me too," I said, half-smiling. "Listen, my name's Edward, and I need to know more about this woman. Did you see her at all?"

"I caught a glimpse of her, and I have her scent," Bree said readily. In her mind I saw a half-second picture of a woman's face through the window of a car. The woman was in her thirties, and she had a troubled expression on her face. Her blue eyes were worried as she drove away.

I gasped, focused on the woman's face in Bree's mind. It couldn't be. That was much too big of a coincidence. It just couldn't happen.

I'd seen the woman before. Just days ago, in the New York airport. She had returned the copy of Wuthering Heights that I had thrown on the floor.

She had the same gift as Mo, Meggie, and Luc. She was in the same building as me, had seen me, spoken to me. And yet not once in her thoughts did she think of her gift. Most of what I'd heard from her was about only books.

But maybe she wasn't skilled. Maybe Bree was a special case, and this woman never read aloud except for that one time. Maybe I was mistaken, and I'd never seen the woman before.

_Stop jumping to conclusions. _I hadn't even expressed that I'd seen the woman before aloud.

"I need to talk to those people," I told Bree. "If you can't control yourself, stay here, but I'd like you to come."

Bree ruminated on her control. _If I didn't breathe, I could probably do it. Probably's not good enough, though. If I killed anybody, he'd would kill _me. _Their heartbeats alone might do it for me. But I want to know what's going on. It's possible that they could get that woman to read me back._ "I think I'll go," she said at last. "But I'm going to stay back and not breathe."

"Perfectly fine with me," I said, finally releasing her.

I ran in the direction Mo and Luc had gone, following their scent. Bree trailed slowly behind me, on her guard for any human heartbeats.

I caught up with the two after about half a mile; they were still running. "Hey," I said. "Where are the others?"

"Edward!" Mo choked, out of breath. "Where's the little girl vampire?"

"Didja kill her?" Luc wheezed, still managing to sound perky with practically no air in his lungs.

Bree was within earshot of their heartbeats now, and was struggling a bit. _You can do this, you can do this, _she encouraged herself. _They're just thumping noises. Like…chopping wood. Chop, chop, chop._ I let her distract herself, but made sure she was still paying attention.

"Where are the others?" I repeated.

"I don't know," Mo said. "Can you find their scents?"

I could smell both Doria and Meggie; the scent was fresh. "I think they're around here somewhere."

"There they are!" A familiar girl's voice rang out from somewhere above our heads. Meggie and Doria dropped from a tree about a quarter of a mile away. We hurried toward each other.

Mo caught his daughter in a tight hug when he reached her. "Well, hello," Meggie laughed. "I'm glad to see you again, too."

"We almost got killed by a vampire!" Luc burst out.

Involuntarily Meggie turned toward me. _Surely not, _she thought.

"It wasn't me," I said quickly. "We met another vampire, and she told me something interesting."

"What?" Luc demanded, highly excited. _I bet he killed her. Bet she's smoke…wha said Meggie was it? Atch? No ash. Smell bad._

"Here's the deal," I said, trying not to rush my words. "The little girl is a vampire written by the same woman who wrote my books, and we exist in the same world. She was read out by a lady who seems to be really good at what she does."

"Where is she?" Mo demanded excitedly. _He might get to go home!_

"I don't know," I admitted. "But… I saw her in New York."

"_What?"_ Doria broke in. "This world is too big to see anyone like that. We're at least a thousand miles from where we were."

"Three thousand, actually," Meggie smirked.

"You see?" Doria hardly noticed her correction; he was only concerned with making his point. "It's practically impossible."

"It happened," I said firmly. I never forgot a face. "She said something to me about books, then she said her flight was boarding and she walked off."

"What flight was it?" Mo was analyzing the situation in his head, determined to get all the details. "Did she say?"

"There was an announcement," I mused, rerunning the scene in my head.

"_Not that I have anything against it, I just prefer contemporary literature."_

"_Ah."_

Then the loudspeaker had sounded.

"_The ten o'clock flight to Chicago, Illinois is now boarding at terminal seven."_

"_That's my flight boarding."_

I groaned. I'd hoped it was somewhere around here. Of course not.

"Where was she going? Do you not remember?" Mo prodded. _Please don't have forgotten._

"Chicago," I said. "She was on her way to Chicago. We have to go to Illinois."

* * *

Okay, this was a sort-of introduction to my first OC! The first character I actually made up! We might meet her in a bit, if I decide she's good enough. Maybe you'll like her. (By the way, she's NOT a self-insert!)

And also, I have no experience with airports. I hope I haven't or won't get any terminology wrong. Please tell me if I do! Tell me anything you like...in your review! Just no swearing. Please.

**Thank you for reading KylerM.**


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